Ministério da Defesa Nacional (Ministry for National Defence)
Decree-Law
(This is not an official translation of the law)
Decree-Law no. 153/91, from April 23, approved the reorganization of the National System for the Emergency Civil Planning, which comprises the National Council for the Emergency Civil Planning, depending on the Prime Minister, and the sectoral committees for the emergency civil planning, of ministerial scope.
The emergency planning committees should be formed as advisory and support bodies to the minister in charge of the respective area and act as "sectoral national defence conscience", who is responsible for identifying the "potentialities" to be explored and the "vulnerabilities" to be overcome or minimized, foreseeing, for that purpose, the adjusted "contingency plans". The EPC' s should be prepared to give advice on the appropriate methodology to be used in these tasks enabling to foresee and dominate the crises or wartime situations where CNPCE may provide a global coordinated and integrated advice. The areas covered by the current EPC's, which already embrace an important and indispensable spectrum to the preparation of the State to face the "crises and wartime situations", present, however, some gaps. Some of these gaps should be fulfilled at short term (by the way, confirmed by the experiences gathered from former crises management exercises of series SIGECRI), such as the ones of the environment and cyberspace sectors. In the environment area, in its various domains, the raised issues have been highly important, which go transversally beyond the remaining activity areas of undeniable and increased importance due to the fact that risk situation may evolve to crises situations. The risk factors are many such as ecological risks associated with the economic activities or the difficulties associated with an appropriate management in order to ensure the availability, in quantity and quality, of this strategic good; nuclear biological and chemical risks arising out of inappropriate use, or even, criminal use, of dangerous substances and preparations, including the use of installations where those products are located; or the special contours of the environmental damages, namely of cross-border nature and the temporal durability of its effects, require a coordinated and systematized treatment of the risk potentialities to be overcome or minimized allowing, as much as possible, to foresee and dominate possible crises situations.
The matters related to the cyberspace, nowadays, are a challenge to all developed societies. We are facing a transformation process of the mainly industrialized societies becoming information societies. Information technology affects our daily lives in a comprehensive and omnipresent way or regardless of the location where we are. The States, individuals and companies feel on a daily basis the positive and negative effects of the information revolution.
The need for Internet security and fighting against cybercriminality and cyberterrorism was acknowledged some time ago by so many instances such as the United Nations, the G-8. the European Union, the Council of Europe and the organization for the Economic Development Cooperation.
Actions such as the Paris Conference held on the 15th and 17th May 2001 have been developed, under the auspices of the G-8, on security and confidentiality in the cyberspace, as well as the Council of Europe convention project on the fight against cybercriminality and the initiatives developed by the European Union - as for instance the Internet Action Plan -, plus others already announced by the Commission.
The national independence guarantee and the creation of political economic social and cultural conditions that promote it are a fundamental task of the State - being mentioned at the beginning of article 9 of the Portuguese Republic Constitution -, and therefore its ongoing and constant pursuit is always strictly necessary.
This means that the duties of the State related to national defence, due to the close connection with the national sovereignty and independence, cannot undergo the constraints and restrictions of a managing government.
Furthermore, there is an imperious and reinforced need to meet the new threats, even more realistic after the attacks of September 11, 2001, through the reinforcement of the capacity and effectiveness of the emergency civil planning system in the environment and cyberspace areas. The bodies of the Autonomous regions government were heard.
Thus:
Pursuant to article 198, no. 1, subsection a) of the Constitution, the Government decrees as follows:
Article 1
Amendment of article 18 of Decree-Law no. 153/91, from April 23
Article 18 of Decree-Law no. 153/91, from April 23, will read as follows:
«Article 18
[...]
1 - The emergency planning committees depend directly on the minister responsible for the respective area, from the functional point of view, on the chairperson of CNPCE, with the nature of sectoral bodies for emergency civil planning and from representatives in the corresponding committees depending on the SCEPC, the following committees being appointed:
a) The Committee for the Emergency Energetic Planning;
b) The Committee for the Emergency Industrial Planning;
c) The Committee for the Communications Emergency Planning;
d) The Committee for the Road Transportation Emergency Planning;
e) The Committee for the Air Transportation Emergency Planning;
f) The Committee for the Sea Transportation Emergency Planning;
g) The Committee for the Agricultural Emergency Planning;
h) The Committee for the health Emergency Planning;
i) The Committee for the Cyberspace Emergency Planning;
j) The Committee for the Cyberspace Emergency Planning.
2 - ...
3 - ...
4 - (Revoked.)
5 - (Revoked.)
6 - (Revoked.)»
Article 2
Added articles:
The following articles are added to Decree-Law no. 153/91, from April 23:
«Article 18-A
Committees' chairmen
1 - The following persons shall, by inherence, exercise the duties of chairperson of the committees referred to in paragraph 1 of the previous article, respectively:
a) The Energy general-director;
b) The Industry general-director;
c) The chairperson of the National Communications Authority;
d) The Transportation general-director;
e) The chairperson of the National Civil Aviation Institute;
f) The director of the Sea-Port Institute;
g) The director of the Agricultural & Food Planning and Policy Office;
h) The chairperson of the National Medical Emergency Institute;
i) The Environment general-director.
2 - The chairperson of the Cyberspace Emergency Planning Committee is a personality of acknowledged competence in the subject in question, to be appointed by decision of the Minister for Science and Technology.
3 - The chairperson is entitled to the monthly pay of a remuneration amounting to 15% of index 900 of the general regime wage scale.
Article 18-B
Chairperson's competence
It is the responsibility of the committees' chairperson:
a) To ensure meeting of the objectives and the committees' good operation;
b) To represent the committee;
c) To call and direct the meetings as well as to sign the respective minutes;
d) To guide and coordinate the committee's support services having, for that purpose, the administrative competences of the managing personnel contained in map II attached to Decree-law no. 323/89, from September 26;
e) To preside the national delegation in the corresponding committee of SCEPC/NATO;
f) To guide and coordinate the participation of the national elements in the working groups and in other NATO's organizations;
g) To submit to higher approval the constitution of the national delegations of NATO's scope;
h) To submit to the approval of CNPCE's chairperson or to the Council itself the matters that they deem deserve such treatment.
Article 18-C
Appointment and duties of the deputy-chairperson
1 - The deputy chairperson is appointed, in accumulation, by decision of the respective minister, under proposal of the chairperson, from among the sub-general directors or alike of the general directorate to which he belongs.
2 - The content of paragraph no. 2 of the previous article shall apply accordingly;
3 - It is the responsibility of the deputy-chairperson:
a) To replace the chairperson in his absences and impediments;
b) To assist the chairperson in the exercise of his competence;
c) To exercise the competence delegated or sub-delegated by the chairperson.
4 - The deputy-chairperson is entitled to a monthly pay amounting to 10% of index 900 of the general regime wage scale.»
Article 3
Regulations
The Government changes the executory decision referred to in article 18, no. 3 of Decree-Law no. 153/91, from April 23, within 30 days after enforcement of this diploma.
Article 4
Revoked legislation
All provisions not complying with this diploma shall be considered revoked, namely articles 15 and 16 of the Executory Decision no. 13/93, from May 5th.
Seen and approved in Council of Ministers on February 21, 2002. - António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres - Rui Eduardo Ferreira Rodrigues Pena.
Promulgated on the 23rd of April 2002.
Be published.
The President of the Republic, JORGE SAMPAIO.
Referendum on the 2nd of May 2002.
The Prime Minister, José Manuel Durão Barroso.
